CRICKET FINANCE

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 74, 20 December 1929, Page 2

CRICKET FINANCE

WHAT THE PUBLIC PAYS It is expected that the “gate” for the M.C.C. v. Wellington cricket match will yield approximately £lOOO. The financial results obtained on previous important occasions of the sort are of interest at this stage. ■When Lord Hawke’s team, captained by P. F. Warner, played in Wellington in January, 1903, there was a profit of £320 on the match. A M.C.C. team led by Major E. G. Wynyard, played here at the end of 1906, when the sum of £530 was received. Coming to more recent times, when A. C. MacLaren’s team w;. in Wellington in January, 1923, the gate money amounted to £386/15/10, but owing to heavy rain which prevented play on the first day there was a loss of £4/9/10. The first Test brought in £973/11/6, the profit being £363/16/6. Australian visitors have always been popular in the Dominion. In the match Wellington v. Australia (Darling’s team) in 1905, the sum of £691/18/9 was taken at the gates, and there was a profit of £l4B/17/9. The New South Wales team met Wellington in February, 1924, and £B9O/17/was taken at the gates, which with £2O 16/4 for programmes meant a profit of £399/0/5. , t The figure was much the same in the Victorian-New Zealand game of March. 1925, the profit amounting to £395/1/4, while admission money totalled £B2O/7/and receipts for programmes £l3/5/6. The Melbourne Club match in February, 1927, ended in a loss of £l3/13/11. Wellington had to pay the New Zealand Council £3OO and the City Council took £147/14/6. In 1928 the Australian team provided a good draw, the total receipts being £BO9/10/-. The New Zealand Cricket Council was paid £3OO. and the City Council’s share was £216/2/3. In 1923 ami in 192(1 Hie takings in the Auckland-Wellington Pliinket Shield contest were in excess of £6OO. being respectively £683/16/7 and £648/17/6, bringing to Wellington profits of £231/17/3 and £222/2/1 respectively.